Some women like to get sarees from every region of India to add to their collection. For such women, if you miss out on Patola sarees from Gujarat then you are surely missing out on something! These are very famous sarees known for their intricate designs and color patterns!
They are indeed the most time consuming sarees made in the whole western region of India! They consist of intricately mixed five color designs with resist dye in both the warp and weft before the weaving starts. It gives a look of reversible fabric to the Patola saree.
History of Patola sarees
These sarees can be dated back to 13th century. Their presence have been registered for the time when Hindu Salve community created these sarees and Muslim Vohra community traded them to South East Asia!
Inspirations for these sarees came from the South Indian temples like Maatansheri in Kerala and Padbhapunam in South Tamil Nadu. During that era, these Patola sarees were favored by the elite aristocratic class of the region. Mostly Vohras, Jains and Hindus [Brahmins] could afford to wear Patola sarees on various occasions like weddings!
The fall of Solanki dynasty and take over by Gujarati merchants later sealed the fate of the sarees in the hands of this state. Patola sarees have since then became a trademark of Gujarat state in India!
The three famous designs of Patola sarees are
Geometric patterns in repetitive designs which derive inspiration from Muslim architectural designs and ajrk which is complex geometric designs of Sind. For example- Navratna Bhat.
Floral and Vegetal designs
These designs were created specially keeping in mind the choices of Muslim Vohra community who didn’t prefer animals and people prints on their sarees. Instead floral and vegetal designs were introduced which were favored by communities like paan bhat, vohra, chaabdi bhat.
One can witness designs like a dancing woman [nari], Kinijan [elephant] and popat [parrot] on the Patola sarees. As a matter of fact, Muslims and Maharashtrians have their own special versions of these sarees meant for special occasions. For instance Mahrashtians prefer Nari Kunj sarees with plain dark colors and border containing women and border motifs!